Octo for 55gal

Ok. I never did find any mercs for the 30gal... So I made it a mantis shrimp tank. Its looking gr8t and the little guy is a ball! My new project is my free 55gal i got. What octopus can I keep in it? And are there any care sheets on the octo?

What would be a ideal octo for a 55gal. My original 30gal plan didnt work when i couldnt find a supplier. So i changed it to mantis tank(hes a ball). But any help finding one? and what corals should I avoid adding to the tank any certain ones?

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Pretty much any octopus you find for sale except Briareus and Vulgaris. Soft corals that don't sting are OK.

~Dave~"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."-Albert Einstein
"Life is tough, It's even tougher if your stupid" -John Wayne
“I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.” -Winston Churchilll

no Mimics are not OK. Here on TONMO we discourage the purchase of these animals because they are thought to be possibly endangered. It is actually against the sites guidelines to keep one.

Liveaquaria.com has them on occasion. Octopuses are hard to find. Ask your local fish store often they can special order them. Keep checking the octopus availability forum.

~Dave~"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."-Albert Einstein
"Life is tough, It's even tougher if your stupid" -John Wayne
“I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.” -Winston Churchilll

If you house a nocturnal (night time) octopus you will need colored lighting for viewing and red is the primary choice, others are experimenting with alternate colors (green and blue) but white light will not allow viewing and the wave lengths of blue suggest not using it.

If you house a diurnal (daytime) octopus, it is best to leave most, if not all, of the tank dark at night and lower powered normal white or white and actinic lights during the day.

How you approach the lighting needs varies heavily from tank owner to tank owner. An intresting idea (albeit expensive) would be to make two tops, one red and one clear to accomodate either type of animal using the same physical lights but a red top would eliminate most any type of soft coral. Most of us add a red light to typical compact or fluorescent lighting and then either turn the red light on with a timer or leave it on all the time in conjunction with the more standard fixtures during the day.

Bimac's are hard to come by but it is a diurnal species so PC's for softies works well for daytime lighting. The octopus has not lighting "needs" so the lights are for whatever else is in the tank and your own viewing. To much light may reduce your interaction time and none of the recommended coral animals need metal halide (which will cause a major heating issue with a bimac).

Keep in mind that a bimac comes from the Pacific and needs cooler water than Caribbean species. 72 tops and under 69 recommended.